Silent, But Not on Mute
by IfWritersCouldSpeak
Summary: At school full of people with problems like her, Nina Martin doesn't know if she could survive. You see because, Nina can't speak, but maybe the boy who can't see her, can show her that the way she lives is all the voice she needs. This is luvme123's story, I have adopted it. Sorry for being late.
1. Chapter 1

Nina Martin was an outsider. An outcast. The victim of bullies no matter how many times she changed schools. Her parents told her that they were jealous of her. She was the best runner in the county, a genius, a play writer in the midst, and an artist. She could do things with colors people had never seen. But above she could sing.

Boy, could she sing.

If you cut open her heart, a melody would pour out. The blood in her veins was filled with notes, and her heartbeat was the rhythm to a harmony that would never end.

"Nina," Annabelle Martin called, entering the room. "Nina, did you do your homework?"

"Yes, mother," Nina, responded shyly.

"And did you practice your singing?"

"Yes, mother," Nina, replied.

"I hope so. The Donaldson's will be over tomorrow, and I don't want you to make a fool of this family, like how you do!" She bent over, and lifted Nina's chin, so her eyes met hers. "Your father and I saved you, when you ruined our lives at eighteen. I'm a mother of a fourteen year old at thirty-two. I don't think that comes across well at job interviews, while I'm trying to get you hot water, electricity and food!" Mrs. Martin stood up, and straightened out her dress. "We'll be back at seven. There's some lasagna in the fridge. Don't eat it all. That's your lunch for school."

Mark Martin skipped down the steps in a hurried way, fixing his tie. "Come on, we don't want to be late." As Mrs. Martin slipped on her coat, Mark kissed his only daughter. "Bye, love."

"Bye, daddy."

The door slammed shut, Nina hummed, ad she headed over to her mail pile. She plowed through; searching for a letter from her school, when she realized that it was all yesterday's mail. _Dang it, I must have forgotten it._

Pulling on her coat, she turned her doorknob and then left her house. She was across the street to the mailbox, when she saw a shadow behind her. She turned around, but there was no one there. When she spun around again, there was a woman in a green trench coat, blue leggings, and a pair of red boots, with jet-black hair, in front of her.

Nina fell over, as the woman pulled her hands out of her pockets. The fourteen-year old could now see the black gloves on her fingers, and she got up.

"You probably don't remember me," the strange woman told her. "I was there when you were born. I saw your pretty blue eyes open for the first time, I saw your father leave the room, holding his hand that your mother broke."

At this moment, Nina pulled her keys out of her pocket, her shaking hands fumbling to pull out her pocketknife without the odd woman noticing.

The woman smiled and began speaking, pretending not to see this. But she did. "I think I've waited long enough. I spent fourteen years the burden of your mother's shadow, a year as her closest companion, a year as the forgotten girl and fourteen years waiting for revenge." She came closer, and Nina backed up. "I hear you can sing, girl. As beautiful as your mother used to. Did she tell you what happened?"

"A girl back in her high school caused an accident to her vocal chords. She got it fixed but she can't sing," Nina explained.

"Yes, my sister. Got her locked her in a jail for quite a while too," the woman admitted. "I never told her how much I hated her, but how much I admired her too. She was amazing, but she had secrets and no one bothered to love her." The woman stepped forward, "But I did."

At this, the woman lunged at Nina, and grabbed her wrist, holding her pocketknife in her hand. Nina struggled, grappling the knife, with one hand, pulling, trying to get it out of her grip. Skin broke as the knife cut her fingers, and blood poured out.

Nina screamed, and the woman grabbed the knife. With Nina sprawled on the ground, her hair the color of her worst enemy's and her eyes mirroring those of her love's, the dark woman slashed at Nina's throat, ripping her vocal chords, but allowing her to live.

Nina was crying, gripping at her throat, trying to stop the blood. The woman pulled out a burner phone, and dialed three numbers.

"_9-1-1, what is your emergency?"_ the voice rang through the phone.

"Go ahead, tell her," the trench coat woman commanded told her the blonde girl. "Oh, that's right you can't."

Walking away, Nina mouthed the words that she couldn't speak.

_It was you. You destroyed my mother._


	2. Chapter 2

"**Don't speak, I know just what you're saying. So please stop explaining, Don't tell me cause it hurts."**

**My request to you. I've been gone a while, and I will accept the hate, but please, I know what you are saying.**

**From the bottom of my heart,**

**Enjoy!**

**~IfWritersCouldSpeak**

"Nina! Nina! Love, you're going to be fine, ok? Ok?" her dad shouted through the blackness that fuzzing her eyes. Her parents requested to speak to her before the surgery. "We're on our way, almost there, just hang on, love, ok? You are the strongest fighter I know. Come on, Nina!"

The voice shifted to her mother's. "Nina, I'm, so sorry you have to deal with our mess. I promise, I will kill her when I see her. You're beautiful, and I'm, so sorry for everything I ever said to you. I'm so sorry. Ok? I love you. Stay strong."

She nodded, her eyes still leaking tears. She was fourteen. She was still young. She had words to say, songs to sing, books to read. She had a whole life in front of her. Now it was gone.

The doctors ended the call, and rolled her into the emergency room. There were four doctors there, all wearing masks and gloves. One woman came near her, with the anesthesia, and whispered, "Hang in there, baby," before shooting it into her IV.

Three hours later, Nina's eyes opened.

When her parents' eyes closed.

**Two Years Later.**

"Welcome, to Frobisher Academy for Boys and Girls, Miss Martin," a cheerful woman greeted, as she took my bag. "The next two years of your life, are you going to fly by!"

We trekked through the lawns of grass, as I felt the bugs begin to suck on my O blooded skin. The sky was gloomy, and the gray clouds closed around the sun, trapping it in a locked position. Students were walking in pairs of two or three, while four or five couples were holding hands. One coupling went as far as kissing against the wall of the school building. Mrs. Hollindale locked in on them with sharp claws, and gave them each detention for a week.

"So are you excited?" she asked me, as we continued on our walk to my house.

I nodded in response.

"Oh, and don't be shy about being handicapped. Anubis House was designed for students with disabilities, but is full of the intellectually brilliant. Oh," she cheered, "here it is!"

The ancient house was brick walled, and the bushes surrounding the house seemed to just give it an even creepier feeling. The windows were all shut, and there was five padlocks on the door. Was this house for disabled kids, or mentally insane kids?

We walked up the steps, and Mrs. Hollindale knocked on the door. "Yoo-hoo, Trudy?"

A lock was turned, and a woman's eyes appeared. "Oh, Mrs. Hollindale." The peephole was closed, and I could hear five locks turning very slowly. At last, the door swung open, to reveal a mid-thirties woman, who wore an apron, and have a salt and pepper hair.

What had these students done to her?

Mrs. Hollindale and Trudy kissed each other's cheeks, and spoke about the dreadful weather, when Mrs. Hollindale checked her watch.

"Oh, I must get going, I have a lot of work given by Sweet. Lovely seeing you dear," Mrs. Hollindale said leaving.

"Take care!" Trudy replied, waving.

Mrs. Hollindale, blew an air kiss, and closed the door. Trudy locked it right behind her, muttering, "That gormless woman." **(1.)**

She turned to me, and smiled, "Hello, Nina! It's nice to meet you." She held out her hand, and I shook it. "My name is Trudy, and I'm you're housemother. I do everything that you're too lazy to do, beside your chores." She giggled. "Alright, everyone's already home, so why don't you head upstairs to meet your roommate, Amber, hm?"

I nodded in agreement, and carried my bag upstairs to my room, as Trudy finished the meal for supper.

As I headed upstairs, I was met by a girl who was in her a blue nightdress, with pictures of ducks on them. She had a vacant expression, and her head was tilted to the side when she saw me. Her dark hair was piled up on her head like a rat's mess.

I waved, but she just stepped back, terrified. Giving it a gander, I signaled in sign language, _"Hello."_

She smiled, and responded with, _"Hi. My name is Mara."_

I signed back, _"I'm new."_

Mara giggled, and replied, _"Hi, New. Nice to meet you."_

I smiled at her joke. _"That was pretty funny. My name is Nina."_

She was going to reply, when a girl with blonde hair, slammed a door, and she came up to Mara.

The blonde signed to her, _"Mara, can you tell Mick that our date is cancelled? I have some studying to do."_

Mara nodded, and patted her on the back. She then walked down the steps, and left me alone with the other girl.

"Hello," she said. "Are you Nina?"

I nodded, and she sniffled. She then took my suitcase, and carried it to a bedroom. I followed, and found the room overwhelming with pink and black. "My name is Amber. I'm your new roommate." She placed my suitcase on the empty mattress, and turned around to look at me. She stuck out her hand, and she didn't look at me.

I shook it, and she looked up for a second.

Her eyes were clearly red, and there were mascara streaks down her cheeks. Her mouth was quivering, and her face was puffy.

I signed, _"Are you ok?"_

"Yes, I am," she wiped her eyes, before looking at me. "No, I'm not." She began crying again and sat down on my bed.

I sat beside her, and she began talking to me. "I was doing really well. They were going to let me out. One more week, and I would have been free. I could have joined the other kids. Now, I'll never get out." She wiped at her eyes. "Some kids at school were laughing at me. Some girl said that if I lost a few pounds maybe Mick wouldn't cheat on me. Of course, I ignored her, until Joy admitted to me that Mick and her hung out a movie, on Friday, and that he kissed her. I believed her since we've been kids since we were five.

"I came home and Trudy made a pie, and I couldn't help it. She let me have a slice, after I told her what happened. She told me to go upstairs after, and it was too much. The door was open, and I just- I had to, and Trudy caught me." She wept harder, and she said, "You can't tell."

I nodded, as I understood.

She turned around to leave, when, "The whole house knows. That's why I told you. I'd rather you hear it from me." She walked out the door. **(2).**

So I lie down to gather my thoughts.

#$%#%^*%$%^$%^$&amp;%#$%#%$#^

After dinner, I had learned the rest of the house's reason for placement here. Mick was dyslexic, had ADHD, and was an insomniac. Jerome was born with a tumor in his limbs, but once it had cleared up, he was forced to live his life in a wheelchair. Alfie was a child when he was in a car crash and hit his head so badly that he couldn't form proper sentences or do nearly anything. Without any proper treatment at home, his orphanage sent him here, in order for him to learn how to live his life. Patricia was survivor of cancer, but she had it in her shoulder, and was going through therapy to fix it. Mara was born deaf in both ears, and Joy had a brand new prosthetic arm that was difficult to handle, and needed therapy for. Lastly, Fabian was born blind, and had suffered through numerous amounts of tablets to control his issues with his stomach's acids. They all spoke (signed) sign language, as it was mandatory to be accepted to the school.

They all welcomed me nicely, saying that the school had never had a mute. People remarked on how nice the rest of the school is, but Jerome didn't lie.

"The school is full of jerks." Fabian and Joy glared at him, but he continued. "They're all jerks. They laugh, they point at you, and they stick loads of pudding in your locker. They're messed up."

I nodded, and agreed silently, that I wished I was still home, in my comfy pajamas, listening my foster mother teaching me algebra at four in the afternoon, when everyone was playing with their friends, and I was reading, alone.

I signed to them,_ Thank you for welcoming me so nicely. Many people in America thought I was a freak. I decided to homeschooling, but the other kids made fun of me._

Amber repeated it, so Fabian could understand. Amber asked, "What other kids?"

Patricia signed to Mara the question.

I signed back, breathing deeply, _I lived in a foster home. I am an orphan._

After Amber conveyed the message to Fabian, nothing was said. The house got quiet after that before Trudy came in with a worried look on her face. "Lovelies, it's almost nine. I would suggest you ladies get back to your rooms. Oh, Nina, dear, Fabian will be giving a tour of the school tomorrow, is that alright?"

"It's fine, Trudy," Fabian replied.

_It's good._

"Wonderful, I will let Mrs. Andrews know you both will be missing first block. Good night!" Trudy called.

Everybody responded with good night, and I saw Patricia signing to Mara, and Mara looking at me with a large smile.

"Um, Nina?" I heard when everyone else left the room.

I turned, and saw Fabian.

"Do you think you could help me to my room? Trudy just moved some furniture, and I am a little lost."

Any form of communication I used, he would not understand, so I just wrapped my arm around his, and guided him to this hallway for the boys.

"My room is the first door on the right," he instructed. I guided him there, and I opened the door for him. I saw Mick getting up to help. "Thank you, Nina," Fabian said. "I will see you tomorrow."

I signed to Mick, and he told Fabian what I told him, before I ran upstairs.

_Yes, you will._

**Ok meanings:**

**(1). Gormless is a British insult. It means stupid or foolish.**

**(2). If it was not understood, Amber is anorexic, and she was about to get out of the disabled house, before she found out about Mick, and she ate pie, and then went back to her previous issue.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey Guys!**

**HAPPY NEW YEAR! (*throws confetti and dances awkwardly, getting filmed by the dork in the corner*) So, how is 2015? Only 15 years until 2030! WHOO! I'll be so old! JK! Anyways, this is the newest chapter. I wrote it a while back, but I just edited it today! **

**Enjoy!**

**See ya at the bottom!**

"So, uh… yep, right there. Yes, this is definitely the faculty area." Fabian ran his hands over the wall.

An electronic voice spoke from the iPad I was carrying_. "How do you know?"_

Fabian laughed. "Finally learned how to use that? It took Mara weeks. I'm pretty surprised."

I typed in a few words and the iPad spoke again. _"I'm a fast learner."_

Fabian nodded. He gently took my hand from his arm, and ran my fingers over the door. "Do you feel the way the wood is patterned? The different swirls. I imagine that each door has a different color. The faculty areas are the color red. When I run my hand over the door, I feel the swirls of paint. Red's my least favorite color, and I hate painting. I just put two and two together."

I nodded, and Fabian let my hand go.

"So, do you want to go sit outside? I mean, we already missed first block and half of second, so we can just get back for third."

I gave him my arm as a symbol of agreement. He complied, and we headed outside.

I guided up to a bench outside of the school. It was a half day, and we didn't bother caring about going to classes either way.

"So, what do you think of the school?" Fabian asked me, once we sat down.

I replied. _"It's beautiful. Everything I dreamed of and more. I never thought I would ever be able to fit in, anywhere. I thought it was pointless to try."_

"I used to feel like that. My mother had told me that even though I couldn't see, that I could still hear. And breathe. And smell. And taste. And feel. She said that my father couldn't feel anything, he was so hopeless to bear with, there was no point in trying."

"_I'm sorry. My mom was like that. Heartless. Or so I thought."_

"People aren't who think they are. You only find their true colors out after something bad happens."

"_Did that happen to you too?"_

"It did. But I've overcome it now. But it still hurts. It's like when you like someone, and then you're brokenhearted. You wake up, and tell yourself you're ok, and maybe one day you are. Then you see them again, and you realize you were lying to yourself. And you worry that you deserved everything you got."

I nodded, and I wondered what he'd been through that made him feel this much pain. _"Tell me something about you?"_

"Like what?"

"_Family, friends, girlfriends, anything."_

"Well, family. I have two sisters. Cierra and Sophia. Cierra's sixteen, and Sophia's ten. They both go to school at Greenburg Academy."

"_Greenburg? That's like, four hours from here, right?"_

"Well, that's where they live. With my stepdad. They love him. I've never really been something to be proud of in that house. I mean, despite my grades, guitar playing skills, and writing, they've always thought I was worthless. That's why they were so happy when I got accepted here, although my stepfather refused to pay for my bills. The full scholarship I got was able to cover the expenses."

"_Do you ever visit them?"_

"The last time I saw-" he paused and corrected himself "-spoke to them, I was ten. Cierra, Sophia, and my stepdad came to visit. Sophia was only six, and she made me this drawing of me in a classroom, and answering a bunch of questions. Cierra was silent the whole time, and I could hear my stepfather just forcing the words out. They used to live near here. He came to tell me they were moving, and they wished for me not to associate myself with the family. They spent a whole of ten minutes there. I could feel Cierra try not to look my way. She was so ashamed of me. Before they left, Sophia gave me a hug, and told me she loved me, no matter what. Then they were gone."

Fabian wasn't crying, but I was. I always thought losing family was the hardest thing. But listening to Fabian, I realized not being loved by them was almost as hard.

Fabian couldn't see, but he knew that tears were cascading down my face. He took his hand, and shakily placed it on my cheek. He wiped away the tears that fell, and when I stopped crying, he took my hand. "Losing them, in that sense, made me realize that life is _so_ crappy, you know?"

I nodded, but he couldn't see. So I squeezed his arm, gently, in understanding.

He sighed. "So, what was next? Oh, right, friends. Well, there's everyone at Anubis. Mainly Mick, Joy, Amber, and Patricia. I don't talk to the others as much. Do you know about the couples?"

"_No."_

"Oh, well there's Mick and Amber… but they're basically over now. Um, I heard some rumors about Joy and Jerome from Amber, but I'm just assuming it's wrong. I've heard that Mick and Joy went on a date and kissed, and Jerome is working up the courage to ask Mara out."

"_How do you know?"_

"I saw him struggling to learn sign language. He is ok with it, but he isn't the best. Maybe you could help him out sometime."

"_Maybe."_

"Well, let's see, what's next… oh, um I heard Patricia has been checking out this boy at school, Eddie. He's in the normal program, so Patricia thinks she has no shot. Yeah, and this information is straight from Joy, so it has to be true."

"_They're best friends, right?"_

"Yeah, since they were thirteen. They lived a town away from each other, and met when they were both treated in the same hospital. They became best friends, and they both came here together, because their parents thought it was a great chance for them to get better.

"Oh, wait, there's one more couple… um, Alfie and Amber! Alfie has gotten so much better since he entered the program. It took three years, but they are discussing releasing. I couldn't be happier. There is no better friend than Alfie. That is when he isn't pulling pranks on you. Well, anyways the crush on Amber is one-sided, and she never really noticed. Maybe she will now, since her and Mick are done."

"_Yeah, maybe."_

"Um, you said girlfriends next, right? Well, I've never had one. Big surprise. No one ever wanted to go out with the kid who couldn't see. Girls were probably worried I would kiss a foot instead of a mouth at some point."

"_People are cruel. I've never had a boyfriend. They all think I'm the freak, because I can't talk. It's not like it was my choice."_

"Frankly, though, I must admit, being handicapped has its positives."

"_Like what?"_

"Well, you can tell who people really are. If they treat you the same, the person is real, and true. If they treat you differently, they never loved you at all. Plus, sometimes when people feel bad for you, they let you off the hook for small things. Like handing a paper late, forgetting to do the dishes, stuff like that."

"_I don't want to be treated different. I wish people would treat me the same."_

"They do. Just at times, they let you off. No one ever does it to me, but it's nice to know I have a back up."

"_Oh."_

"Um, Nina, I have to ask you something."

"_Ok. Go ahead."_

"Can you describe yourself to me? Like physical characteristics? The only reason I'm asking is because I always ask people, so I can see who they really are."

Nina agreed without hesitation. _"Ok. I'm fifteen. I lost my voice at thirteen. I have dirty blonde hair, and green eyes. Um… I have a scar on my cheek from the time I fell off my bike when I was seven. That's it."_

"Which cheek?"

"_Left."_

He smiled, and breathed in, as he was taking in this information instead of air. "Thank you, Nina."

"_It was no problem."_

"Tell me something about you. About homeschooling, yourself, family." He paused, and corrected his error. "I mean, if you want to."

"_It's fine. I went to homeschooling for two years at the orphanage. My teacher, Ms. Roberts, was nice, and she always treated me like just another person. She was the reason why I decided to even come here. She had a thing for the guy in charge, Mr. Richards, but she was always too shy to talk to him. Um, I had five other girls in my room, and there was only one bed. The others, Macy, Lily, Diane, Rosa, and Karen, thought that my 'disease' would rub off on them, so they refused to let me take the bed. The four of them rotated, two each night. I slept on the floor daily. But it's not like I could do anything about it. Anyways, sometimes they'd lock me out, so I'd sleep outside on the floor. _

"_So, things about me. I like to paint, I love to write, I was a pretty good runner, but then I quit. I used to be a really good singer, but… anyways, my favorite color is white, and my favorite song is Ordinary People by John Legend."_

"I love that song," Fabian interjected.

Nina smiled. _"It's awesome. It really describes… what I think of the world."_ She cleared her throat and continued. _"Right, um… family. I lost my parents when I was thirteen. I had no other relatives, so I went to the orphanage. Um… not much there…"_

"You don't have to go into specifics. I understand."

"_Thank you."_

The third period bell rang, and Fabian stood up. Nina followed suit, and interloped her arm with his. The clunking of cane, led them to the main doors, where they headed off to class, together.

**Hope you liked that!**

**Spoiler alert: I already have one of the last chapters for this planned out. So DO NOT think I will quit on this story! It is beautiful and perfect!**

**New rule: I have decided that the first person to review, will get a spoiler for the story. It is in the form of a riddle, and will either be for the next chapter or future chapters. Or I will go crazy and do for a different story. This is goes for all my stories starting NOW!**

**Good luck!**

**See ya!**

**~IfWritersCouldSpeak~**


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